


Acrimony

by MadalineGrace



Series: What's Your Emergency? [15]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Chemical Exposure, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Seizures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23796220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadalineGrace/pseuds/MadalineGrace
Summary: A grudge goes too far and one of the 118 gets caught in the crossfire.
Series: What's Your Emergency? [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688359
Comments: 14
Kudos: 269





	Acrimony

Eddie patted the back door of the ambulance and waved the driver off. He and the rest of the 118 had done all they could and now it was up to the other team of paramedics that had responded to take over. He sighed. It had been a weird call from the start. A healthy young lawyer had begun seizing in the middle of a client meeting. The man had no history of epilepsy and no evidence of head trauma or drug abuse. Sure, these things sometimes just happened, but it still didn’t sit right with Eddie. Shaking his head, he glanced up to see the rest of the team packing up their supplies…except for Buck. Buck stood apart from the others, staring blankly out of the large office window. Frowning, Eddie walked over to his friend. It wasn’t like Buck not to help out with clean up.

“It’s a pretty day.” Eddie commented mildly, coming up to stand beside him. When Buck didn’t respond, Eddie squeezed his elbow lightly. “You good, man?” This seemed to rouse him a bit, but it didn’t reassure Eddie in the least. Buck turned slightly to face him, his eyes blinking slowly and lips smacking.

“The light…it tastes funny.” He mumbled, sounding almost like he was drunk.

“The light…? Buck, you’re not making sense. Are you feeling okay?” Eddie asked, no longer bothering to hide his concern. He pulled Buck around and placed both hands on his shoulders, trying to get a good look at his eyes.

“I think…” That was as far as Buck got before his body stiffened and his eyes rolled back in his head. A fraction of a second later, he was collapsing to the ground and Eddie barely had time pull him close into a controlled fall.

“Buck!” Eddie yelped in surprise. By the time they reached the ground, Buck’s entire body was wracked with violent convulsions that contorted his limbs at unnatural angles. Automatically, Eddie’s training kicked in and he rolled Buck onto his side, cushioning his head with a hand as he did so.

“What the hell happened?” Bobby sprinted over, fear and tension radiating off of him in waves. Eddie shook his head.

“I don’t know. He seemed kind of spaced out, so I went to check on him and now he’s seizing just like the other guy.”

“Alright, gloves on everybody.” Chim ordered as he knelt down. “Buck was fine this morning, so he was probably exposed to something in here. Eddie, you still got yours on?”

“Yeah, I never got a chance to remove them. Neither did Buck.” Eddie pointed out. Hen crouched and took a closer look at one of the spasming hands.

“There.” She said, pointing to his left palm. “He must’ve ripped one without even noticing. I’ll radio in and let them know that both cases are likely from a chemical exposure.” Bobby nodded and turned to Chim.

“How’s he looking?”

“Generalized tonic-clonic seizure, just like our other victim.” Chim confirmed. “He’s not great, but he’s not in serious danger right now. As long as it stays under five minutes, I like his chances. I’d rather not give him any drugs if I don’t have to considering I don’t know what’s causing this in the first place.”

They were silent a moment, monitoring Buck carefully. Bobby felt frustratingly helpless as he watched Buck. He had seen him hurt and sick so many times before, but this was different. Something about the choked, gasping breaths and the wildly shuddering limbs seemed so wrong…so _unnatural._

To their relief, the seizure began to taper off around the three-and-a-half-minute mark. Gradually, the powerful contractions faded into trembling muscles and occasional twitches. Buck was breathing heavily, his breaths wheezing loudly in his chest. When the worst had passed, Chim carefully swept a finger through his mouth to ensure that his airway was clear before securing an oxygen mask over his face.

“There we go. That’s it, Buckaroo. Just hang in there.” He murmured as he began taking his blood pressure. Buck groaned softly as the cuff tightened and tried to roll away, but Bobby held him in place.

“Easy, kid. Stay on your side, okay? We’ve got you now.” He soothed, rubbing slow, small circles on Buck’s back.

“He’s coming out of it.” Eddie announced as Buck’s eyes opened partway. They were glassy and unfocused, but he’d never been so happy to see them in his life. “Hey buddy. You with us?” Buck mumbled something in response, however, it was too quiet and muffled to hear. “What was that?” Eddie leaned in closer.

“Hhhnnnn…isss too…gotta…my arm…still there?” Buck slurred almost incoherently before passing out again. Bobby shot Hen a worried look.

“Post-ictal confusion.” She said with a nod. “It’s normal to be this out of it after a seizure like this. He’ll probably be in and out for a while.”

“We should get him transported. We still don’t know what the hell caused this.” Eddie said, chewing his lip nervously.

“Agreed. He’s stable enough for now and I’d like to get going just in case there’s another seizure on the way. Hen, you wanna get that backboard in here?” Chim waved her over, but his eyes never left Buck. Not for the first time, he was struck by just how young he looked. While the others prepared the equipment, Chim leaned in close and thumbed away a small dribble of foam from the corner of Buck’s mouth. “You’re gonna be okay, kid. You don’t have my permission to be anything else.”

* * *

_Pounding. Throbbing. Beating. Pulsating._

These words all seemed to accurately describe the situation in Buck’s head. It was as if a chorus of jackhammers had suddenly taken up residence in his skull and decided to lay into it like a cracked foundation. He might’ve moaned. Then again, he might’ve screamed. He really couldn’t be sure through the deafening ringing in his ears. The only thing he was certain of was the feeling of something strong and warm gripping his hand. It was soothing and reassuring and Buck was almost certain that he’d felt it before. It grounded him, gave him something else to focus on outside of the constant, unrelenting pain.

And then suddenly, it was gone, and he was left bereft and adrift in a sea of agony. Waves of it crashed down over him, threatening to drown him with their intensity. Dimly, the was aware of jumbled voices filtering around him, followed by a faint jerk at the crook of his elbow and a cool rush through his veins. And then that same, strong presence was back, this time a hand running calloused fingers through his hair. By slow degrees, the pain began to fade.

“Shhhh, it’s alright. You’re okay, Buck. Gonna be ooookkkkaaaayyyyy. Just breathe.”

Oh. Hearing the voice, it finally made sense that it was Eddie here with him, providing comfort when he needed it most.

“Try to relax. The meds should kick in soon.” Eddie continued, his voice low and soft. _Meds?_ Buck paused for a minute to focus on his surroundings. Now that the pain was no longer consuming his every thought, he could hear the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and feel the faint sting of an IV in his arm. Hospital, Buck concluded. But that didn’t answer the question as to why he was there, why his body felt like he’d just run a marathon, and why his head felt like it had been backed over by a semi. Maybe Eddie had the answers? He should probably ask.

“Eh…Eh…eee…” Buck croaked, utterly failing to form a coherent word.

“Hey, buddy. You waking up for me now?” Asked Eddie, his fingers never stopping their slow, soothing motion.

“Ed…die.” Buck absurdly proud of himself for just being able to get his friend’s name out.

“Right here, man. Can you open your eyes? I dimmed the lights for you, I promise.” He wanted to say no, but Eddie’s voice was so hopeful that Buck had to at least try. It took effort, more than he thought that it should, but eventually he managed to force his lids partway open to reveal Eddie, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.

“H-hi.” Buck whispered. Eddie chuckled quietly.

“Hi, Buck. How are you feeling?”

“Ummm, h-head?” Buck answered a little uncertainly. The whole world still seemed a little fuzzy. Eddie gave him a sympathetic look.

“Yeah, you had one helluva headache earlier. I talked the nurse into giving you something for it and it seemed to help. You just let me know it starts to get bad again, okay?”

“Why ‘m I…what ‘apppened?” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose and, for the first time, Buck noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes and the lines of stress creasing his forehead.

“Do you remember that med call with that lawyer who started seizing?” Buck thought for a moment.

“A little. I ‘member gettin’ there.” Eddie nodded and blew out his cheeks.

“Well, as it turns out, one of this guy’s former clients had quite the grudge. I guess a case didn’t go his way and he decided to get even by poisoning him and that’s what caused the seizure. While we were treating him, you somehow ripped a glove and got exposed as well. You started convulsing at the scene. You had one seizure there and two once they got you to the hospital.” He explained, jaw clenched in barely contained anger. Buck took a minute to process.

“Am I…okay?” He asked after a moment, unsure of how to interpret Eddie’s reaction. As if sensing Buck’s fear, Eddie shook himself and pasted a mostly genuine smile on his face.

“You’re gonna be just fine. The lawyer, too. Athena managed to track down the guy who did this. She threw the book at him, then threatened him with God only knows what until he told us exactly what he used and what the antidote was. Apparently it was some sort of snake venom? I didn’t get all the details, just that you were gonna feel like shit for a while, but make a full recovery. For now, though, you get to deal with the rather unpleasant side effects.”

“Oh?” Buck mumbled tiredly. Eddie winced.

“Headaches, as you already know, muscle aches, maybe some muscle spasms, weakness, nausea, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath, to name a few.”

“So…no work tomorrow?” Eddie snorted.

“Absolutely not. You’ll be lucky if you even get released tomorrow. No, buddy, you are going to be getting very well acquainted with my guest room.”

“Again?” Buck groaned in mock annoyance.

“Oh, please. Don’t start with me.” Eddie laughed. “You practically live there anyway. You are going to lay down, relax, read books with my son, and eat chocolate chip pancakes without complaint until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health, understood?”

“Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice.” Buck yawned around a grin.

“Nope.” Eddie agreed, popping the ‘p.’ “Now get some sleep. You look like crap.”

“Seen a mirror lately?”


End file.
